You've Begun to Feel Like Home
by AmongtheWildflowersx
Summary: It is 1864 and the Civil War rages on throughout the states. Stefan Salvatore is a Confederate Soldier, who was found by Benjamin Forbes in a near death state. He brought the young soldier back to their barn, so his daughter Caroline and him could care of Stefan. What will happen as time goes on and how will this change Caroline's current relationship? -AU-
1. Prologue

The gunshots from earlier still echoed throughout his head. Dried blood encrusted his forehead but also fueled the flame on the wound below his ribs. His body struggled to even keep going as he crawled through the damp forest. Stefan' rifle was covered in mud from dragging it along the ground, among the fallen leaves.

His comrades were probably already back at the makeshift base camp, miles away. They were celebrating the victory, yet he cried from the distance where he lay. Only if he could make it back and have a glass of whiskey, that's what he wanted at a moment like this. But he was unable to, could barely crawl as he cried for help. His cries went unheard and the forest remained silent. All that was around was the creatures who prowled at night, who watched him with pity as he crawled.

Stefan' arms gave out and he laid there on the ground, starting to reflect on his actions. He wasn't weeping anymore — He knew death was coming. He would be a forgotten man, a lost body, a broken soul. He wasn't the man he wished he was or had been. Soon he came to the conclusion that when the sun rose again and the warmth kissed his face, he'd be a dead man. He wouldn't see home or his brother again.


	2. Chapter 1

"Caroline! Caroline!" The piercing sound of her father's deep voice woke her, she shifted and pulled the covers over her, an attempt to return to her sleep. "Caroline! Caroline Elizabeth Forbes! Get down here, we got to go to the barn right away!"

She rose up in her bed, sort of angry to be disturbed from her dreams at this unholy time. Caroline yelled back at the top of her lungs in frustration "Father! Must you wake me up at this time of morning? It is barely light outside and the chickens aren't even up yet!" She slipped out of bed and walked downstairs, her eyes still adjusting to the dim light. She yelled once more for her father, looking for him.

He father appeared at the front door and stuck his head in, drenched in sweat and looked like he was wearing dirt for clothes. "Care, I'm heading back down to the barn. Get a basin full of water and some clothes, then come on."

"Okay papa, I will be right there." She eyed her father as he vanished from the doorway, and noticed how much he had changed. His once dirty blonde hair was now grayed, and his eyes wore the years upon them. He had aged so much, but he ran the farm all by himself and was both a father and mother to her. She loved her father more than words could describe.

She ran back up to her room, to throw on a simple cotton dress, she was no Southern Belle when it came to farm work. But it was a small farm, not a plantation by any means and they weren't the privileged southern aristocracy. _Those were the ones with enough money to bathe in and a thousand slaves...this was why they were fighting in this war to begin with. No actually it wasn't being fought to end slavery, but this so called freedom._ _And the price of this? The death of men and families lost. All for glory!_ She always got into a rant when thinking about the war, she hated it and the death that it came with.

Caroline scolded herself as she grabbed the basin out of the kitchen, filling it up with the water she had fetched the day before. She lifted it off the floor and the clothes hung over her shoulder, walking outside. As soon as she got into the nippy morning air she heard her father yelling for her to hurry. _What was the big rush Papa?_

Benjamin met his daughter about halfway and grabbed the water out of her arms, not wanting it to get to heavy. Caroline smiled as her blonde ringlets laid on her shoulders "I didn't mind Papa, I could of got it. What is the matter anyway?"

"I was on my morning rounds and found a man, a soldier on the edge of our land, in the woods." He explained, as he motioned for her to get the barn door.

"Who?" She said, so many thoughts rushing through her head. The thought that stuck was the one of Tyler, this could happen to him at any moment. Her hands fumbled in anxiety as she twisted the door knob.

"Care, I haven't got a name yet, he's still unconscious. You are just like your mother, always caring no matter who it is." Benjamin led her to the end of the barn where Stefan laid, on the hay upon a dirty blanket, that was used mostly for the few horses they had.

"Oh Papa you know me... you are the one that tells me 'Now Caroline, you have the biggest heart of anyone I know. It is your greatest quality but also your biggest flaw.'" She said repeating the thing he had told her, as she knelt down beside the man. "How hurt is he?" Worry etched in the tone of her voice.

Benjamin watched her and smiled, _My daughter has barely saw the man and she was already worried for his well being. That is my Caroline, always eager to lend a hand to those in need._ Caroline sprung towards him and started to inspect his wounds. "What about the bullet?" she said to her father, eyes widening.

"It's fine darling, I already extracted it by his rib... And so, I brought him here. Your sewing skills are in need though. I stopped the bleeding with rag I found, it's still open. I think you should start now, because of blood loss, but it is also easier with him unconscious." He replied, down on one knee.

Caroline sighed in relief "Bring my sewing kit and more washcloths, please." The barn door shut as she focused back on him. Caroline tore open his bloody cotton shirt and placed it with his gray uniform jacket. Her eyes landed on his broad shoulders and sculpted abs. She was fazed by him and ask _Was it wrong?_ She may have been bold and outgoing, but she'd never seen a man this way— not even Tyler. His flat stomach screamed of months of running, days of shooting and lifting from the war. He was a man, not a boy. He was a soldier, wounded with scars, tainted by guilt. She was marveled, captivated even. Caroline drenched one of the cloths with water from the basin and brought it to his chest, washing off the dried blood. She winced as she worked around the wound below his left rib. Delicately she outlined the small scattered scars all on his toned arms and shoulders.

"I brought your sewing kit, darling. Apologies for taking so long, I wasn't able to find it at first" He set the box of materials down beside the basin and ask "Should I stay?"

"And watch me sew up his skin? You can go finish your rounds papa, if you want. I will make breakfast for us when I finish up."

"Oh my daughter, you'd still be able to eat after that? You inherited your mother's heart and her features, but you have the stomach of a man." He said as he walked out of the barn. He shut the door behind him, taking one last glance at his daughter, immediately regretting his decision. _I should not have put this on her, knowing she could not handle death. Even if she did not know the man, it will devastate her._

Caroline spread her sewing tools adjacent to her. She inspected the small, but deep hole on his upper body. The sun shone its rays of light over the barn as she worked diligently to sew the gash in his skin. Drops of blood would trickle down his abdomen as she continued to close the gap. Caroline would pause from time to time when he would stir under operation. Nursing someone required an endless amount of patience, a trait that was always like her.

She didn't quite understand why she was so willing to take care of him. She admitted the wonder and fascination she had immediately felt for him, but why? She reasoned it was because he's a soldier and Tyler is a soldier also. She felt the need to take care of him because there was a slight possibility that Tyler could be in the same situation. That was the only reason she could justify. She just felt an odd sense of comfort with his presence, she felt enough. She hasn't felt these emotions ever wash over her before, they were foreign.

She didn't know this man, but was it wrong to be attracted to him? Southern planters knew everyone and had at least 20 slaves, they would have people over all the time and their daughters were the perfect Southern Belles. But for her she only really knew two boys, Tyler and Matt. Tyler was a boy she had grown up with and who occasionally helped papa with the farm work. They were very close friends, her only close friend really and Matt was his best friend. They had went of to the war together and when Tyler left, it was at the worst possible moment. They were just starting to become more serious, starting to talk about their futures together and then he left. He told her to wait for him, that he would be back, that their futures would be back on track soon. Of course she had seen other boys in town but it was different than being this close. _It's acceptable to have attraction for another man._


	3. Chapter 2

Caroline walked out of the barn but quickly returned. Her urge to watch over him won the best of her. She kneeled back down beside him and drenched a clean cloth with water from the basin. She started cleaning the dirt off of her patient. As the minutes ticked by and the filth was cleaned from his face, she became more aware of his features. Her delicate fingers moved past his angled nose and prominent jaws to the open area of his chest. With her other hand, she brushed the fallen strands of hair from his face returning it to the rest of his sandy brown hair.

Caroline rose up onto her feet and started to wander around the barn, instead of sitting beside him the entire time. She began to organize the rusty equipment she found laying about and tidied up the stalls of their two horses.

Eventually, Stefan groaned loudly, feeling the burn on his wound as he shifted slightly. Caroline rushed towards him the in an instant but quickly stopped herself. _You can not do that, y'all do not know each other._ She just stood there in the distance looking at him, unsure of what to do. She remained unmoving, silent, simply watching him.

Stefan laid there on the hay; his body was unable to cooperate with him at the moment. He was fragile, he was weak, he belittled himself, he felt like nothing—an utter waste of space. He remained unaware of the presence of her, as he was more focused on the pain. Stefan allowed the events of last night to drift into his mind. His comrades marched from Charles city to Paulding County. It had been up and down for the Confederacy, but they did win last nights battle. His commander was merciless, he showed no attachment to his men, no remorse for the soldiers they had lost. It was murder or be murdered. He had soon grown cold, he had been desensitized by the war that he could not longer show much compassion. He reasons that if he were to feel, he will remember all of the cries, begging, blood, and guilt. Stefan had numbed himself, he was no longer the boy he used to be. He could feel the tears well up in his eyes.

Caroline felt her heart wrench, she didn't know this man but she wanted to help him, heal him. She watched as his eyebrows furrowed, showing the worry lines on his forehead, as she moved closer. Stefan looked around to see where he was at, wondering why he is even alive when they make eye contact.

Caroline's eager blue eyes meet his honey green ones with a welcoming glance. "Hello?" Stefan said as he took in the mysterious blonde lady in front of him. Her porcelain skin complimented the shade of pink in her cheeks quite well.

"Hello." She looked at him with a simple smile on her face, kneeling down to her former position. Both of them silent, staring at each other— observing the unfamiliar face. "I am Caroline, Caroline Forbes." She begun, believing she should give him a recap of the day's events. "My father found you at the edge of our property, on his morning rounds. He removed the bullet and brought you back to our barn."

"I must thank him. I am Stefan, Stefan Giuseppe Salvatore and it is my pleasure to meet you Miss Forbes." He started to raise up but hissed at the pain under his chest.

Caroline immediately came to his assistance, helping him change positions. She was close to him; her body merely inches from his. She tore herself away from him, returning to her earlier position again. Contrasting to her feminine appearance, she did not smell like lavenders and daisies. Her scent was of musky wood and herbal spices.

He looked down to notice that the blood and dirt that once covered him had been washed away and he was all patched up.

"I was the one who did the sewing though, papa would have been terrible at such a task." Caroline had a slight smile appear on her face as she recalled her father trying to sew her a dress when she younger, after mama passed. He failed miserably.

"Thank you, Miss Forbes." Stefan smiled politely, showing gratitude.

Benjamin finished up his rounds and noticed that his daughter was not back at the house yet. _Was she still in the barn? I knew this was a terrible idea—She was probably mourning over a dead man..._

The Barn's wooden door creaked open revealing Benjamin. He seen his daughter now talking to this man and honestly quite shocked. He squatted down next to Caroline and extended his hand towards Stefan. "Benjamin Forbes, I see you have met my lovely daughter Caroline."

"Salvatore, Stefan Salvatore. It is my pleasure to meet you both and thank you so much for all your care." He extended his hand to meet Benjamin's. He used all the energy he could muster to shake the man's hand firmly. His older brother Damon always told him that a firm handshake will automatically get you respect.

"Please to meet you Mr. Salvatore and it is our pleasure. Caroline, darling, will you please start preparing breakfast now? I am starving, and I am sure our guest is too."

Caroline walked out of the barn and towards their small farmhouse. Benjamin turned to Stefan, shaking his hand in amusement. His daughter was an eccentric woman, confident, brave, and full of light— the apple of his eye. "Was my Daughter good to you?" He said.

"She was just as you said, Lovely." Stefan smiled as her watched her shadow disappear. He wished to keep the conversation with Mr. Forbes light, but had the feeling the man would interrogate him.

"My girl. So, Mr. Salvatore, would you like to tell me about yourself? But first we should probably get you out of the barn and into our guest room."

"You trust me enough to let me into your home?" the young man gave him a smile.

"You haven't give me a reason not to." A ghost smile flashed on his face as Benjamin carefully pulled Stefan up off the ground and leaned him against his old and rusting body. " We will get to know each other better as you heal." Benjamin promised. He was actually happy to finally have someone to talk to about farming and politics with. All the things his daughter did not want to discuss. "C'mon, lad"

As her father walked around the corner to the kitchen, where she was setting up the table. "Where is Stefan?"

"In the guest room, did you expect me to leave him in the barn?" He father suggested as he took a seat at the table.

"Is he coming to eat?"

"He is most likely asleep, he needs to recuperate. Will you bring him food after we have ate Caroline?"

"Of course papa. Afterwards I will clean the kitchen." She said finishing up everything and taking a seat at the table with him.

"After cleaning up, I recommend you do the some reading while the clothes are in the wash. I will be down at the barn, got to clean up from this morning's events."

"Yes papa." She nodded. Her father had always encouraged her to be literate and educated. He had once said 'I raised a knowledgeable man out of her porcelain figure.' She was thankful; most women around her age were discouraged to participate in such affairs. They stood behind their husbands and Caroline scoffed at this. Women were not to be treated as property. She was beyond grateful for her father and his beliefs. She knew that someday she would inherit the farm they lived on and if—when Tyler returns, they would live on the land together.

Once they had finished up eating her father stood and pushed in his chair "Okay, go on. Bring Mr. Salvatore his food."

She nodded and made a plate for him, then obediently walked towards the guest room. She felt strange, yet at ease with his presence. It was contradicting. He stirred odd, feelings in the pit of her stomach, tugging, making her unleash a foreign emotion. Yearning. _No Caroline Elizabeth Forbes, he is just a man. Just a man._ She scolded herself for being so absurd and thinking such things. She had only met this man because of the condition of the nation. And her she was thinking like a catty woman when she had someone of her own.

Caroline reached the end of the hallway and faced the auburn colored door. She took a deep breath, composing herself and softly knocked on the door.

"Yes?" She heard him croak. Her father was correct, he had been asleep.


	4. Chapter 3

"It is Caroline. My father sent me to bring you some food." Her slender hand twisted the doorknob and she entered. She spared him a quick glance with a smile, noting that he might look the tiniest bit better. Then setting the plate of food on the desk there adjacent to the bed. Stefan met her eyes and gave he a small hint of a smile. She smiled back "Are you hungry?"

"Somewhat. I do not have much of an appetite right now." Stefan pushed him up a bit to where he was leaned against the headboard.

"You should eat." Caroline said firmly, her motherly instincts starting to take over "I mean I am sure you need it." She begun to leave the room "Mr. Salvatore, if you need anything just let me know. I will only be down the hall cleaning up." She reached for the doorknob, needing to return back to the kitchen. As she begun to take her leave, she heard him say something and stopped immediately.

"Miss Forbes?" he said and she turned her head that second, searching his eyes. "Will you stay?" the nervousness echoed in his tone. "I would rather not be alone right now."

She turned around, giving him a smile of agreement. Caroline pulled the wicker chair her father had furnished from the corner and sat by his side. She set the plate of food on his lap "Eat. It's much more enjoyable to eat with company. Papa and I always eat together. I would wait for him until the darkest hour, when all the work is done just to dine together. I hate eating alone, like when papa goes away or into to town and stays. I am left to eat by myself—" She rambled to him, sharing her personal experiences. Her life begun flashing behind her eyes, as memories overflowed in her head. She lost her words and herself in a picture of her father, little Caroline, and her mother… Her heart broke as she recalled the days when her mother was still with them. They always prepared dinner together, she remembered setting three plates at the table for months, after mama died. She never wanted to eat unless they were all together— as a whole.

"Miss Forbes?" Stefan watched as a series of emotions flashed across her face. Anger, sorrow, regret, and he noted the curl of her bottom lip. Bravery was one of her greatest assets, as she was always at battle with inner turmoil.

"I just really hate eating alone." she replied quietly, a reassuring smile appeared on her lips, but her eyes confirmed the lie.

He wanted to help her, to hold her and make it okay, however he could not. He remained still watching her recompose herself. "I am thankful you are here so I do not have to eat alone." His eyes held hers captive, as they searched his. She knew it was so much more than that, but the simple statement he made warmed her heart.

"My pleasure, Mr. Salvatore." Caroline's normal smile return to her face.

Stefan smiled back as he finally took the first bite of his meal.

Once he had finished up she helped him lay back down "I guess I should go clean up, I told papa I would while he was out. I can come back afterwards if you would like." She got the plate and walked out of the room, to the kitchen.

Benjamin walked in, seeing his daughter there still wiping up the kitchen. "Caroline? I was sure would be done with the kitchen already. Is something wrong?" He figured it had something to do with the soldier in the guest room.

"Sorry papa, I got a late start. I took Mr. Salvatore his food, stayed longer than planned. I am almost done then I will get to the clothes." Caroline said, as she bent down to ring out her rag.

"Care… I think we might need to talk about him." Benjamin propped his tired body against the door facing, regretting most of the day. She looked over at her father, you could see how run done he was. The tiredness was written all over him and embedded in his eyes. She nodded for him to start, to say what he had to. "I just do not think it is a good idea to get attached to him, Caroline. He is a soldier who has been wounded, it is a very high chance of infection. I think you did a great job with caring for him and you did it will such compassion. But you know when treating any kind of wound, especially one to the chest, infection is at high risk. Even if he does survive this, he is going to leave soon. He will go back to the battlefields or return home, to his family if he has one. I love you Caroline Elizabeth, I am just looking out for you, I do not want you to be devastated."

"You do not think he will live papa? Is that what you are trying to protect my heart from?" Caroline replied, washing out the rag in the lukewarm water. She had not dared look at her father, as the emotions built up inside her.

"I am saying it is a great possibility but you should know that. You are my daughter Caroline, I know how you are, you have the most compassion out of anyone I know. Remember the calf, the one that died after two days. I watched you do everything you could for the little thing and it still passed, it broke your heart. Caroline, you cried for days over that calf, this isn't a farm animal darling, this a living and breathing person. Infection runs rapid in cases like this, it sets up fast, and terrible enough there is nothing we can do once it does." Benjamin says and nervously picks at his callused hands, years of farm work would do that, anyone could tell that.

Caroline let the washcloth slip out from between her fingers, into the water. A few drops splashed up, landing on her delicate skin, masking the tears. "So… just like mama… there is nothing we can do?"

Benjamin heard the words slip off his daughter's tongue, like tiny daggers, he didn't even like the mention of his wife. He missed her more and more every day. Every second that went by, Caroline looked more like Elizabeth, reminded him so much of her. He felt a tear wet his old and worn face and said in a pain stricken tone "You just have to care for them and have hope Caroline…"

She felt the flood gates break open and the tears cascaded, she couldn't hold in the sobs anymore. Caroline immediately fled the room, her parents had told her it was fine to cry but she didn't think so. She didn't ever want to show that kind of vulnerability. She always found it easier to just leave the situation, she had laundry to do anyway.

Caroline sat there on the floor of the small laundry room, an occasional sob leaving her lips. She was trying to scrub a stain out of papa's good shirt, or maybe scrubbing out of frustration, when she heard footsteps. She looked up to see her father there, with his liquor decanter, it was a fancy glass one, she didn't see it a lot. She recomposed herself from her crying and said "You okay papa?"

"Yes, Caroline take this and go clean up his wound, give him a proper shot at being okay."

"But papa, I know I know how little you have and how much it must cost. Are you sure?"

"Yes Darling, I could have told him to be on his way but I didn't, I invited him in. I think we should give him the best chance at living then don't you?" He said to his daughter and handed her the bottle. "It might hurt like the dickens but it will clean it. Go on, infection can step up fast."

Caroline nodded and smiled at her father "Thank you papa." She said and walked off to the guest room. She gently wrapped her fingers around the door knob, opening it, trying to avoid the creaking that showed their homes age. She went over, setting the decanter on the desk and smiled at Mr. Salvatore sleeping.


	5. Chapter 4

She was glad he was asleep at the moment, she did not want him to see her face all red and blotchy. She hated for people to pry into how she was feeling, opening up was not a strong suit of hers. She walked over to the mirror and tried to wipe her eyes to make her face look presentable before doing anything.

Caroline went back over and took a seat on the side of the bed. _Should I wake him or just go ahead and start working?_ She decided it would probably be more polite to wake him, didn't want to startle him. She gently shook him "Mr. Salvatore?"

Stefan jumped awake but looked up to notice it was just her and where he still was. "Yes Miss Forbes? Did you need something?" He smiled at her but noticed something was off, she didn't have the sparkle that was earlier there. Her eyes were traced with sadness and her face looked like she had been sobbing.

Caroline forced a smile to appear and replied "I am here to clean up your wound. You have to keep it well taken care of so infection doesn't set up." She looked away, knowing if she looked too long he would see how upset she truly was. "Least I can do is nurse you back to health."

"That is very nice of you, Miss Forbes. Everything your father and you have done for me has been amazing. I do not think I can ever repay you." Stefan said and looked at her, admiring how the blonde ringlets framed her face and how her blue eyes hid all her pain. He watched her get up off the bed and get everything she needed, with the occasional sniffle. His mind raced, wondered what was hurting her, how he could help her. _But the truest question wasn't how but if he could._

Caroline gathered up everything she needed to nurse his wound and the whole time felt on the losing side. She felt as if she made one false move, everything would crumble in the palms of her hands. She felt a tear escape and run down her cheek, until her fingers brought it to a halt. It was a tiny rebel trying to go against its commander.

Caroline brought one of her father's clean shirts back with her, setting everything on the desk. "I got a clean shirt for you to put on, afterwards." She brought the one he had on over his head, avoiding eye contact.

Stefan watched her obtain the bottle and said in an attempt to lighten the mood, as you could see how upset she had been. "Miss Forbes, it looks like you might need that more than I do."

Caroline was caught off guard by his comment and the tiniest smile appeared on her face, to match the sweet one on his. "Well I am perfectly okay Mr. Salvatore, I don't know why you might think otherwise. I am not the one here with a hole in my side."

"That may be true but your darling blue eyes hold a lot more pain than they should." Stefan said.

Caroline looked down as she felt her cheeks heat up. "Now that is nothing to worry about, you have bigger problems. I will warn you though, you might not be so okay with me after this. I probably should have gave you a swig of it before starting."

Caroline worked carefully and occasionally look up to his eyes locked shut and face all squished up. A noise of agony escaping his lips every now and then, from the firewater being poured on his wound. She hated to see so much pain be inflicted on anyone but knew it was for the best. Once she had finished, cleaned everything up and pulled the clean shirt over his head.

Caroline began to leave the room but felt his hand wrap around hers, and she turned around. "Yes?" she said and picked up a rag off the desk to wipe the sweat of his brow.

"Don't leave Miss Forbes… Please." he said and a shiver took over for a moment.

She gave him a comforting smile, before retrieving a quit her mama had made to throw over him. Caroline sit down on the bed and he took her hand in his, they sit there like that in the candlelight for a while. She just took in his figure, he was tall and quite slender, yet muscular.

Stefan broke the silence after a while and said "Miss Forbes, can I have that swig of whiskey you spoke of now?"

She smiled and nodded at him, pouring him a little of it, not even sure if she should. He gave her a small smile in return and said "Tell me something pleasant, or about yourself… I would like to get to know you."

"Well Mr. Salvatore I do not usually just open up to people like that. I am not one who likes to talk about my past." She said reaching up to brush the hair out of his face.

"But I am dying so you could for my last requests." He said as a single tear escaped the barricades of his eyelids.

She wiped it off his cheek with her thumb, almost instantaneously. "Now, there is no reason for you to talk like that! Here I am trying to do everything possible to keep that for happening and you are just giving in. If you are going to talk so negatively I can leave."

Stefan looked at her getting flustered and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. "I am only stating the facts Miss Forbes. Everyone in the war knows that a bullet wound to something other than the extremities, is pretty much a death sentence. The survival rate is so very low but I can never thank you enough for all you and your father have done."

"Mr. Salvatore, I refuse to let you fall into that category. I will do everything in my power to see to it." Caroline smiled at him and gave his hand a comforting squeeze. She looked at him for a second, his eyes looked weak and his hair was still wet from sweat. She wanted to ask him to tell about himself but she instead she did something very unlike her. "So I was born here, in this house to my father Benjamin Forbes and my beautiful mother Elizabeth Forbes. I have always been an only child but it was a very happy childhood. We never had a lot, but it was happy life for a little girl. I remember helping mama with breakfast every morning for papa. And once we had finished up, we would go on a walk, picking flowers or berries. Mama, she would always hold my little hand and tell me stories as we walked. In the evenings, after we had supper, papa would take me on his evening rounds with him. I would usually be on his shoulders, and we walked through the field. I felt on top of the world in those moments. My parents had wanted another child, when I was six years old mama was pregnant again. The baby was stillborn and it nearly killed her, physically and emotionally. She wasn't the same after that, the light in her eyes was gone. She began to get really sick about a month later, the Doctor said the baby weakened her system."

Caroline stopped talking and looked down at her hands. She could feel her lip quiver and tears beginning to form in her eyes. She wanted to run out, she couldn't cry in front of him. She did not want to be seen as weak. Caroline looked up at the ceiling, hoping the tears would dry up and never fall.

Stefan watched her fight back the pain she felt boiling inside her. "Miss Forbes, you don't have to continue if you do not want to. I would understand."

Caroline heard the words from his mouth, but felt the need to keep going. She had never talked about what happened with anyone, except papa and he would always cut it short. She shook her head "No, it is fine." She took a deep breath and let it out "my mama kept getting worse, by the time I turned seven, she never left the bed anymore. It was so hard to watch her deteriorate before my eyes, and not even understand what was happening. I wanted to do everything a seven year old could to make her better, but Papa and the Doctor said there was nothing to be done. She passed away a week later, it changed everything so dramatically. That will be eleven years ago, later this year. Papa did not know how to raise a little girl all by himself and run the farm, when all he wanted to do was die inside. He kept fighting because I was here, but if I wasn't I do not know where he would be today. We began to fade away from everyone there for a while, we did not do any of the things we did with Mama."

Caroline sit there and played with her hands, thinking over her life, deciding what is important. That was when she thought of Tyler and said "My parents had always been really close with the Lockwood's, who do not live very far from here. They would invite us over to their plantation home a lot, yeah they were very well off. I can't say I agreed with all of their life choices but they were a great family friend. I grew up with their son Tyler, he has always been such a gentlemen, my best friend all through childhood. But this all seemed to change when mama passed, Papa didn't go over there anymore, he barely left the farm. It had to be a real have to case for him to go into town or anywhere for that matter. Once we quit going over there and seeing them as much, Tyler would come over to help papa with the farm work or that is what he said. He left for the war a while back with one of his closest friends and it broke my heart to possibly lose another person I cared about. I thought he would want to write and hear from home more, but he said no that it would make it harder… So sorry I am rambling again. As for my dreams and what I want in life, there is so many things I would love to do. Most of them are unrealistic for a southern farm girl like myself… But truly, I just want to be happy and loved, live life like my parents, treasuring each day they had together."

He smiled at her with tired eyes and she smiled back at him "Well, you look quite tired Mr. Salvatore, I will let you rest and it is beginning to get late anyway." Caroline said as she stood up "You owe me a story tomorrow."

"Indeed I do Miss Forbes, It will be the highlight of my day."


	6. Chapter 5

Caroline woke up the next morning and looked out at Papa already out working. She walked down the stairs slower than usual, to see if she could hear Stefan. When there was no noise, she walked on and entered their small kitchen. She took mama's apron off the coat hanger and tied it around her slim waist. Caroline wanted to have breakfast ready on time, late was not like her.

As she mixed the ingredients , her mind was racing… thinking about Levi and how the war was. Thinking about mama and how much she wished for her to be there. She could ask her what to do and how to feel. Her mama always had the answers… She might have just been a little girl when she was alive but had important questions. Well at the time they were important, and mama never treated them as anything less. Caroline felt a tear escape and run down her cheek, as if its goal was to make it into the batter. She caught it and wiped it away "I don't know what to do Mama… If you are watching over us like Papa says, I really need you right now. I need help. I need you. What do I do?"

"Care? You okay?" Benjamin said, walking into the kitchen. He would usually stop at the door and tell her he was back from rounds. But when he walked in, he heard her and just walked on in.

Caroline almost jumped out of her skin when she heard her father behind her, turning around "Papa… you scared me." she caught her breath and wiped her eyes "I'm okay. Just making breakfast."

He nodded at her and took a seat at the table, taking off his farm boots. They sit there in silence for a while as Caroline was getting breakfast ready. "Caroline." He said looking up at her "I heard what you said. I am not your Mother and I don't think I will ever be able to be that, but I am here if you need someone."

Caroline set the table and smiled at him "Thanks Papa but I am okay." She looked at the food in front of her, laying on the table. "I am not hungry this morning papa, I will take Mr. Salvatore a plate and start on folding laundry. If that is okay?" She knew she was breaking her one rule but could bring herself to eat right now.

Benjamin nodded at his Daughter and watched her make a plate for their guest. He hated to see her so distraught but wasn't sure how to help. He would never be Elizabeth and still didn't know everything about raising a Daughter without her.

Caroline went and knocked on Stefan' door "Mr. Salvatore. I have your breakfast." she said in a soft tone, with a knock on the door.

After a few moments had passed he answered "Come in Ms. Forbes." in a raspy morning voice.

Caroline opened the door and walked in, giving him the plate "Breakfast Mr. Salvatore. If you need anything let me know, I will be in the laundry room." Once again breaking her one rule, the one she introduced to him the day before but she couldn't stay. She just couldn't.

He smiled at her "Thank you ever so much, Ms. Forbes." He said as she was going to leave "When you finish up, come back if you have time. I still owe you a story."

Caroline felt a huge smile form on her face. It was the type of smile that made her cheeks hurt and her eyes crinkle up. One that helped make her morning better. "Well I will have to be sure to finish up then. Won't I?" She said as she walked out of the room.

Caroline spent her whole time finishing up the laundry and hanging it on the line to dry, thinking about him. She couldn't help it, it consumed her and she felt her best with him. Once she had finished and cleaned up the kitchen from breakfast, Caroline went back to him.

He looked up from the book he reading "Back so soon Ms. Forbes." He smirked at her and laid the book on the bed "Ready for the story now? To figure who I am.

Caroline nodded at him with a smile as she took a seat. She sit there beside him, where she had told him about her life the day before.

He began "My Father Giuseppe Salvatore moved to America from Florence in his 20's. He always said that he wanted give him future family a good life. Once he got here, he took up residence in small Virginia town by the name of Mystic Falls. There he met my mother, Lillian Blair, and was soon to be married and got involved with the town council. Not very long after my parents were married, my older brother Damon was born. When my brother was five years old, my mother had me. The longer my parents were together the more you noticed how terrible of a man Giuseppe was. Things kept getting worse, they fought all the time and it got to the point of violence. I remember being terrified at night as a child because of the screaming and the sounds of things breaking. Damon would always come and hold me, he was best big brother you could ask for. Anytime Father would plan me for something or ask who did it, Damon would take the blame and get punished. He said he was afraid of what Father would do to me and didn't want me hurt." He stopped her a moment a looked at her, listening intently. "When I was 10 years old my mother passed away with consumption and I knew Damon was all I had left… So here I am Ms. Forbes, with you as a wounded soldier of the Confederacy."

Caroline listened to him talk so calmly about the events in his life, hers was nothing compared to his. When he finished, she looked up at him "Mr. Salvatore, If you don't mind me asking is there a reason you joined the war instead of your older brother? Or did you both?"

"Father told Damon he had to join the war, but his Fiancee had just found out she was pregnant. That would be very looked down upon if it was to get out, and he didn't want anyone to know, except for the three of us. So instead of telling Father about the baby, I volunteered to come in his place. I was only a couple weeks over 18 but he had always been there for me. I couldn't let him down" Stefan answered.

"You were barely even a man, Mr. Salvatore. I am very sorry about you having to do this." Words came out of Caroline's mouth before she could stop herself or know what she was saying. She looked down and couldn't believe she had just said that. "I'm sorry" she said.

"It's quite alright Ms. Forbes. If I wouldn't have, I would not be her talking to you." Stefan said and smiled at her, acknowledging that it was okay.


End file.
